Joaquín Albarrán Domínguez

He was born in Sagua la Grande. A physician by profession.

His scientific work in the field of Urology established him as one of the most important specialists of that discipline on a worldwide scale. Of Spanish father and Cuban mother, he studied his early years as a boarding student at the Colegio de Belén de La Habana, which was directed by the Jesuit Fathers. Subsequently he traveled to Barcelona, where he completed his Secondary Education and University studies, graduating as a Bachelor of Medicine in 1877; a year later he obtained the title of Doctor from the Universidad Central de Madrid. To complete his education he traveled to France and attended Pasteur's laboratory. At the Faculty of Medicine in Paris he completed postgraduate courses in Histology, Bacteriology, and Clinical Medicine.

In 1884 he obtained, through competitive examination, a position to practice medicine in Paris, and continued his preparation with professors Trelat, in the specialty of Surgery, and with Guyón, in Urology.

In 1890 he was assigned the position of Head of the Clinic for Diseases of the Urinary Tract at Hospital Necker, and two years later, also through competitive examination, the position of Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris. Four years later, in 1898, he was elected Vice President of the French Association of Urology.

In 1901 he was appointed head of the Urology service at Hospital Necker. When his mentor, Doctor Guyón, retired from the Chair of Clinical Diseases of the Urinary Tract, which he taught at the University of Paris, Albarrán took his place, assuming the position on November 14, 1906. In 1908 he presided over the I International Congress of Urology, which took place in that city. He combined teaching with medical practice and research work. His scientific work contributed to clarifying the physiology and pathology of the urinary system, which, combined with his contribution regarding innovations and the improvement of instrumental technique, greatly contributed during those times to preserving the health of patients with kidney ailments.

Among his contributions to medical instruments are: the so-called "Albarrán Hook," which he presented to the Academy of Medicine in Paris in 1897, an apparatus with which one could probe the ureters through a catheter to the kidney, and resolve through this method the cure of renal tuberculosis. A thermogenic heater to disinfect catheters by means of formaldehyde released through the combustion of metal vapors in contact with a platinum sponge; and various metal catheters, syringes, and urethral separators.

In the experimental field, the so-called "Polyuria Test," initiated by him successfully, made it possible to explore and compare the function of both kidneys, before and after the absorption of a certain amount of water, with the objective of studying the course of secretions from each kidney.

He was a distinguished member of various prestigious scientific institutions, among them: the Anatomical Society of Paris (1888); the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana (1890); the Society of Clinical Studies of Havana (1890); and the Society of Surgery of Paris (1899).

He received various decorations, such as: the Godard Prize from the Hospitals of Paris, with which he was honored on three occasions (1884, 1893, and 1903); the Tremblay Prize, awarded by the Academy of Medicine in Paris, in the years 1897, 1899, and 1904; the Oulmont Prize, also from that Academy, in 1889; and the Gold Medal in Surgery of the Hospitals, presented in Paris in 1887, a prize not previously achieved by a foreigner.

In 1907 the French government distinguished him as Officer of the Legion of Honor. Albarrán left an extensive body of work, for the most part originally written in French, and translated into German, English, and Spanish. Among the most important titles he published are: Operative Medicine of the Urinary Tract (1909), Exploration of Renal Functions (1905), and Surgical Diseases of the Kidney and Urethra (1899).

He was interested in and wrote some notes related to the history of medicine, particularly regarding his specialty. He correctly mastered the Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Catalan languages.

ACTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Study on the kidney of urinaries (Doctoral Thesis). Estudio Tipográfico de R. Planas, Barcelona, 1890
"Peri-nephritis, pathological anatomy, pathogenesis and treatment". In: Anales de la Real Academia de Ciencias
Médicas, Físicas y Naturales de La Habana. Vol. 27. Havana, 1890, pp. 344-360
"Exploration of Renal Functions". Massan et Ca. Editors, Paris, 1905
Treatise on Operative Medicine of the Urinary Tract. Normal Anatomy and Surgical Pathological Anatomy. s/e,
Paris, 1908.

PASSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Paulis Pages, J. and M. Y. Monteros-Valdivieso. Joaquín Albarrán, Brilliant Architect of Urology. Historic Museum
of Medical Sciences "Carlos J. Finlay", Havana, 1963
Presno, José Antonio. "Joaquín Albarrán". In: Ateneo de La Habana. Cuban Figures of Scientific Research.
UCAR García and Company Printing Press, Havana, 1942, pp. 11-28.
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES: File. In: Archive of the National Museum of History of Sciences "Carlos
J. Finlay"
Albarrán Domínguez, Joaquín. In: One Hundred Figures of Science in Cuba / Rolando García Blanco.../et-al/.- Havana: Scientific-Technical Publishing, 2002

Source: Redciencias.cu